Cape Verde snatched a historic and thrilling 2-2 draw against Uruguay in the second round of Group 8 matches at the 2026 World Cup.
The Cape Verde side entered the match with a fierce fighting spirit, defying the historical gap in quality in their first-ever World Cup appearance, and imposed their brave style of play to claim their second point in the tournament, continuing their run of surprises after opening their campaign with a precious draw against Spain.
With this result, both teams are level in second place on 2 points each.
Cape Verde's goals were scored by Kevin Pina in the 21st minute and Hélio Varela in the 61st minute, while Uruguay's goals came from Ronald Araújo in the 43rd minute and Agustín Canobbio in the 45+5th minute.
After both sides drew in the opening round and collected one point each, they took to the field in search of a win to boost their qualification prospects ahead of the final round. From the opening whistle, Uruguay applied early attacking pressure, while Cape Verde dropped into an organised defensive shape and relied on counter-attacks.
The 15th minute produced the most dangerous early chance, when Federico Valverde found himself in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper following a decisive through-ball, but he fired wide of the net, squandering a certain opportunity to take the lead.
Against the run of play, Cape Verde were awarded a free kick from outside the penalty area, which Kevin Pina executed with a powerful low shot that nestled in the net, marking a historic goal for him and his national team in their first appearance at the global tournament.
Uruguay players appealed for a penalty, claiming a handball by one of the defenders, but the referee signalled play on after a VAR review, before Cape Verde exploited the space with quick runs that almost brought them a second goal.
Uruguay recovered their attacking threat in the final minutes of the first half, with Araújo successfully equalising with a header after the ball rebounded off the post, before Canobbio snatched a second goal in added time to give Uruguay a 2-1 lead at the break.
At the start of the second half, Uruguay sought to extend their lead with a third goal, while Cape Verde attempted to fight back through set pieces and rapid attacks.
Substitute Hélio Varela capitalised on an error between Uruguay's defence and their goalkeeper, intercepting the ball and slotting it into the net to announce the equaliser in another scene that documented his nation's fighting spirit in the tournament.
After the goal, Uruguay surged forward and managed to find the net, but the referee disallowed the goal following a VAR review due to an offside call.
Uruguay intensified their attempts to score a winner, but were met by a resolute Cape Verde defensive display and late counter-attacking efforts, before the referee blew the final whistle with the score level at 2-2.